The present invention relates to the design and operation of electrical discharge machines. For the sake of brevity, the detailed description of the present invention does not present a comprehensive description of the basic operating principles or components of electrical discharge machines. Rather, reference is made herein to the wealth of teachings on the subject as presented in the patent literature. Particular reference is made herein to the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 6,717,094 (Beaumont), issued on Apr. 6, 2004, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.